The Sindh police Friday took Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) senior leader Senator Azam Swati in its custody from Quetta, a private TV channel reported.
“The politician’s lawyer Iqbal Shah told the sources that even though the Balochistan High Court ordered the septuagenarian’s release, the province’s police handed over his custody to the Sindh police,” the reported added.
Senator Swati is now being shifted to the country’s southern-most province via a special aircraft, Shah told the sources.
PTI leader Qasim Khan Suri also confirmed the development denouncing the Sindh government’s action “regretful” in the wake of the BHC’s order favouring the senator.
The PTI’s another senior leader Asad Umar also denounced the senator’s arrest.
Earlier today, the BHC ordered that all first information reports (FIRs) registered against the PTI leader for his controversial tweets against senior military leadership be quashed following a petition filed by the senator’s son against the registration of the cases in Balochistan.
Last week, five FIRs against the senior politician were registered in the southwestern province’s Kuchlak, Hub, Zhob and two other areas after which he was arrested from Islamabad by the Balochistan police. Swati was in their custody after a local court in Quetta approved the law enforcement agency’s request for a physical remand.
At the time of his arrest, the senator was already on judicial remand in Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail, following his detention for a second time in the case of a controversial tweet on November 27. He was then shifted to Quetta under a transit remand acquired by the police.
